Scotch Gambit
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 · C44–C45
Part of Scotch Game
Starting positionWhite to move
0 / 12
Development beats a pawn — for now
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The idea
White declines to recapture on d4 and develops the bishop to c4 instead, offering a pawn for a fast attack down the centre.
Main line: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Ne4
What White wants
- Develop the bishop actively and push e5 to gain space
- Castle quickly and use the half-open d-file
- Recover the pawn later, or mate — either is fine
What Black wants
- Hold the extra pawn with ...d5 and careful defence
- Develop with ...Nf6, ...Be7 and ...O-O
- Return the pawn to complete development if necessary
Key idea
Understand this and the moves stop needing to be memorised.
Development beats a pawn — for now
White's e5 push kicks the f6 knight and gives real space. If Black defends precisely and castles, the pawn tells; if Black grabs more material, the attack usually comes first.
Common mistake
Grabbing the pawn back at the first opportunity. Nxd4 hands Black a free ...Bb4+ and an easy game; the gambit only works while White keeps developing and makes the e5 pawn and the open lines worth more than the material.
Representative position
The position this opening is aiming at. Copy the FEN, or open it in the analysis board and let the engine tell you what it is worth.
r1bqkb1r/ppp2ppp/2n5/1B1pP3/3pn3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 2 7
Analyze this position